Sheffield Accountants

New Rules mean tax inspector may now decide who your friends are! Accountants give their advice.Accountants have pointed out guidelines that have been produced by HM Revenue & Customs encouraging tax inspectors to establish whether or not an employee is a 'close friend' of the controlling director of a firm before allowing tax relief for pensions contributions made in respect of an employee, warns accountants and under current tax rules, it is relatively straightforward for businesses to claim a tax deduction from their profits in respect of pension contributions made for employees. For accounting periods ending after 5 April 2006, this expense will only be deducted if the business can demonstrate that it is incurred "wholly and exclusively" for a business purpose such as attracting and retraining valued employees. The draft internal guidelines can be found in sections of HMRC's Business Income Manual that deals with employers' deductions for pensions contributions paid for employees.